Bears Surge To Share Of WCAL Title

Published: February 20, 1999 12:00 AM

It was a scene that even the most optimistic Waynedale Golden Bear fan would have had a hard time conjuring in late December.

At that time the Bears were 1-5 and taking on water from nearly every portal.

Fast forward to Friday evening, where the Bears completed their amazing turnaround with a 68-47 win over the Norwayne Bobcats, securing them a share of the Wayne County Athletic League title and setting off a midcourt mob scene and subsequent net-cutting ceremony.

"I'm so proud of these kids. They deserve this," said Waynedale coach Erich Riebe. "When we were 1-5 we decided to turn it around. We worked at it and worked at it. I told them what to do but the credit goes to them for going out and getting it done.

"This shows the kids what it takes to win a championship."

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What it took for the Bears was a 3-week layoff due to the brutal winter weather which allowed Riebe and his charges a chance to right their ship.

And did they ever right it, as Riebe and the Bears finished the season with wins in 10 of their final 11 WCAL contests. From 1-5 they finished 13-7 overall and 11-3 in the league.

"Mother Nature helped us out," said Riebe of the weather induced break. "We were able to get Jason Still healthy and it enabled us to regroup and develop some chemistry. It was just like starting the season over."

The title was Waynedale's first in eight seasons and fifth in school history. That it was shared with Dalton, a 65-58 winner over Smithville Friday night, hardly seemed to matter.

"We'll take it any way we can get it," said Riebe.

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For Riebe, who was a member of two Bears title teams as a player, as well as four regular season conference championship squads at The College of Wooster, his first title in four seasons on the Bears' bench held perhaps more significance.

"I've been on some championship teams as a player, but this is as special as anything I've won before," said Riebe. "With the way we started the year, it just makes (the title) all the more gratifying."

Waynedale made things easier on their fans by running out to a 12-2 lead after one quarter. With Norwayne connecting on just 1-of-9 shots, the Bears missed a chance to blow the game open early.

"We weren't moving well and we weren't setting picks," said Riebe. "It seemed like we were just rushing things on offense a little."

Although they attempted just four shots in the second quarter, hitting on three, the Bears were able to carry a 28-18 lead into halftime thanks to a 10-of-14 effort at the free throw line.

Brett Arnette showed the way for the Bears with 11 of his game-high 21 points in the opening half.

Waynedale opened the second half by hitting five of its first eight shots to push the lead to 40-28 midway through the period. Arnette nailed a 3-pointer during the run, while Todd Barkman delivered a nice drive that resulted in a 3-point play.

Norwayne, however, refused to go away and cut the lead to 40-30 on a Mike Rupp basket with just over three minutes left in the third.

But, just as they had for most of the game, the Bobcats couldn't seem to get any closer.

A technical foul on Norwayne's Jason Zimmerly after a scramble for the ball under the Bobcats' basket helped fuel a 7-1 Waynedale run to end the quarter. Arnette drained both technical free throws, followed by a pair from Tyson Karcher on the ensuing possession. Barkman swished a trey from the left wing with 44 seconds left to send the Bears into the final eight minutes leading 47-31.

"The kids relaxed more in the second half and let the game come to them," said Riebe. "The technical seemed to light a fire under us and we started to pick it up defensively."

Norwayne made one final run, cutting it to 54-45 on a pair of Brant Gasser free throws at the 2:42 mark, but Waynedale iced matters by draining 10-of-10 free throws in the final 2:20.

For the game Waynedale was a sterling 28-of-33 at the charity stripe.

"Wow, that's got to be the best we've shot all season," said a surprised Riebe. "I've told the guys that some games were going to come down to free throw shooting. This one didn't because, though, because we were able to get that early lead and keep it around 8-12 points all game long."

The Bobcats never could dig themselves out of that early hole, as they fell to 2-16 overall and 1-12 in the league.

"Obviously we didn't come out and get the kind of start we wanted to," Norwayne coach Doug Hanzie said. "We did enough right to stay in the game and the kids played hard, which they've done all year.

"When it came time for us to make a play we just couldn't come up with one. We just never could get over the hump."

Following nearly a decade without a WCAL basketball trophy in their case, that's something the Bears can relate to.

"I told the guys that this is why you go to camps in the summer; why you go to open gym all the time; why you put in all the hours of practice," said Riebe. "This is the reward you get."